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Carlos Alcaraz Needs to Replicate HUGE 2007 Rafael Nadal Feat to Beat Novak Djokovic After Losing First Set in Wimbledon Final

Dhruv Rupani
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Novak Djokovic is on a roll in the Wimbledon 2023 Final against World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, winning the first set way too convincingly, 6-1. Coming out all guns blazing, the Serbian was near to perfect in every aspect of the game. And with this achievement, Djokovic has a deadly record which will give chills to any opponent at Wimbledon even in the future.

This was the 78th match at the Grand Slam for Djokovic in which he has won the first set. And alarmingly, he has played 79 in total. It means the only one time in his entire career, the 7-time champion has lost a match after winning the first set.

Could Carlos Alcaraz become the second man to beat Novak Djokovic after losing the first set?

That occasion was way back in the 2007 semi-final against Rafael Nadal. Djokovic had to retire hurt after losing the first set, barely managing to survive the third set. However, since then, the story has totally been different for the Serbian.

Although Djokovic only found his grass game in 2011 with his first title win, players have only been able to beat him when they have won the first set against him. The last man to beat him at Wimbledon was Tomas Berdych back in 2018 and even he won the first set, before the current World No.2 retired hurt from that quarterfinal match.

Carlos Alcaraz surely has a mountain to climb. But one Spaniard has achieved the unthinkable although that was 15 years ago. The 20-year-old could become the second to do so and that would be some feat considering that not even his idol, Roger Federer or the likes of Andy Murray could do. This achievement could also make the Carlos Alcaraz vs Rafael Nadal comparisons much bigger, with many claiming that Alcaraz is much better at 20 than Nadal was.

Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz Wimbledon 2023 final update

At the time of writing this report, Carlos Alcaraz was seen performing much better in the second set, leading 5-4 with Djokovic’s serve to follow.

About the author

Dhruv Rupani

Dhruv Rupani

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Dhruv Rupani is a Tennis Editor at The SportsRush. He is a tennis tragic in every sense and would go to any length to defend it against anyone if compared negatively to other sports. A huge Rafael Nadal supporter, Dhruv believes tennis is very much like life in most aspects. He started following the sport at the age of 10. Translating his love for sports into a living, he has over 8 years of experience in the digital media space. He aims to entertain and educate people about sports by presenting the best updates to them. When not covering tennis, Dhruv loves to spend time watching comedy shows and movies, reading inspiring books and doesn't mind trying his hand at cooking sometimes!

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